Farmer strapped to drill rig and refusing to budge

Jessica Grewal
Senior Reporter APN Newsdesk NSW Bureau
Working from Sydney, Jessica specialises in crime/court reporting, filing for APN’s regional mastheads in Northern NSW as well as providing national content for the group.
She was previously Chief Reporter at the Fraser Coast Chronicle in Hervey Bay, Queensland where she grew up and trained.
Early in her career, she was named Queensland Young Journalist of the Year at the Clarion Awards.
More recently, she was finalist at the 2013 Kennedy Awards for Excellence in NSW Journalism in both the...

TENSIONS are rising at a coal seam gas exploration site in the NSW North West where an elderly farmer who strapped himself to a drill rig, is refusing to budge.

Dry land farmer and grazier Ted Borowski, who owns a property north of Coonamble, believes the future of the region's farming industry is under threat if the proposed Narrabri Gas Project goes ahead.

The 58-year-old successfully brought a convoy of four trucks carrying a coal seam gas drill rig through the Pilliga Forest to a halt on Monday morning.

His protest action comes after Deputy Premier Stoner confirmed he would support the fast-tracking of the Santos backed project.

"If gas fields invade the NSW North West, it will destroy our water, damage our land and ultimately destroy our ability for a future in farming and food production for the next generation," Mr Borowski said

"The land is all I have, and while it's very difficult to take time away from the farm, it's critically important to me that I make strong stand to protect our land and water from coal seam gas fields," he said.

Negotiations with Mr Borowski, who attached himself to the trick with metal piping, were continuing on Monday afternoon.